


Adventures in Babysitting

by Egotisticalfloof



Category: Sanders Sides, Thomas Sanders, Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Domestic Violence, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Organized Crime
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-31
Updated: 2018-10-06
Packaged: 2019-04-16 12:02:32
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,237
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14164422
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Egotisticalfloof/pseuds/Egotisticalfloof
Summary: Roman, Logan and Patton Sanders are enjoying their quiet life as brothers in Florida with their dad Hugh and their Uncle Thomas. When Thomas gets surprising news from England, their family grows as one more member joins them - Thomas’ son, Virgil Prince, recently released from a Secure Children’s Home into Thomas’ care after not seeing his father for over 12 years.The three brothers are excited, and as Virgil learns where to fit in with his new family, there are a lot of adventures to be had.





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> A little idea I had a while ago about exploring the Sides as children, with Thomas being Virgil’s father, but Uncle to Roman, Patton and Logan. It’s gonna be multi-chapter, focusing more on the four Sides, but with some sweet development between Virgil and Thomas, and Thomas and all the Sides.  
> Also, Hugh, the character of Roman, Logan and Patton’s dad, is taken from “The Bestest Friend Tag” video that Thomas did with Joan, where Joan gave Thomas an extra brother xD

 

 

As far as Roman could tell, it started with a phone call.

He had been playing in the back garden of his home, fighting the dragon-witch to protect the prince in distress. As the “dragon-witch” – really just Roman’s little brother Patton in an old Halloween outfit – roared and rushed at Roman, the “prince” – their uncle Thomas – interupted them as his phone began to ring.

Leaning on his wooden sword, Roman watched as Thomas wandered away from his three nephews to talk on the phone as Patton came over to him as well, panting and out of breath.

“I’m gonna beat you this time Roman!” He declared.

Roman hushed him quickly, and Patton looked disappointed, but traipsed over to where their middle brother Logan was sitting at the garden table reading. Collapsing onto a chair, he engaged Logan in conversation as Roman watched Thomas, trying to glean from the nods and small words Thomas was saying to guess what was happening.

When Thomas went pale and collapsed onto the garden bench, Roman knew the news was bad. Immediately, he rushed inside, calling for his father, as Logan and Patton looked up and hurried over to Thomas, crying for him and asking him what was wrong. Hugh came running outside with Roman and over to Thomas, before shooing the three boys inside as Thomas began to panic.

None of them wanted to go, but Roman herded his little brother’s inside and up to his bedroom, in the back of the house so they could watch Hugh and Thomas talk.

“What do you think it’s about, Ro?” Patton asked as he stood beside his brother by the window. “Is Uncle Thomas okay?”

“I’m sure he’ll be fine.” Roman comforted Patton quietly, wrapping an arm around his brother as Logan joined them by the window, book forgotten.

“I hope it’s nothing bad.” Patton whispered, “Uncle Thomas looked so sad.”

“He wasn’t sad Patton, he was panicking.” Logan corrected, “So it’s most likely bad news.”

“Or shocking news.” Roman countered loudly, “It might not be bad, just news he wasn’t expecting to hear.”

Patton seemed happier to accept this as the truth instead and continued to watch out the window as Thomas and Hugh spoke to each other, conversing with Logan quietly to try and guess what they were talking about. Roman ignored them and let them talk, lost in his own thoughts trying to figure out everything. He was the oldest, he knew the most about Thomas and what news could have shocked him so badly, and yet he was still drawing a blank.

Both Patton and Logan eventually left the window to go and do something else, but Roman stayed there. By the time Hugh had calmed Thomas down, and they had had a rather animated discussion, they both looked up and found Roman standing at the window. With a light smile, Thomas waved him down. Glancing at his brothers, Roman left them to their own devices and bounded down the stairs and out into the garden.

“Are you okay Uncle Thomas?” He asked as soon as he joined them in the garden, taking a seat between his father and uncle and glancing between them.

“I’m fine Roman, I’m sorry I scared you.” Thomas said, “But I had some pretty big news.”

“Thomas-.” Hugh began but Thomas nodded and the man fell silent.

“Do you remember Virgil?”

Roman blinked in surprise and nodded without thinking. Of course he remembered Virgil, although the memories were a little hazy. He was Thomas’ son, born when Thomas was still experimenting and discovering his sexuality, and Thomas had helped raise him for a year until his mother had unexpectedly moved to the UK. Roman had been two – going on three – at the time, but the memories were still there.

“You mean your son?” He asked quietly.

“Yes my son.” Thomas confirmed, “Well, the call was about Virgil.”

“Is he okay?” Roman demanded, “You haven’t spoken about him for years.”

“Well I haven’t seen or heard anything about him for years.” Thomas tried to sound nonchalant, but the subject was a painful one. He missed his son, had done for the last twelve years, but contact with him had been limited, despite all efforts on Thomas’ side. “But he’s going to come and live here, with me.”

“What?!” Roman cried, “Are you serious?!”

Nodding, Thomas couldn’t help a smile at Roman’s enthusiasm, even if it was laced with sadness. Quickly, Hugh took over.

“Thomas is serious.” He said, “The short story is that Virgil’s mother has passed away and he has nowhere to go. That is the story we’re going to tell Patton and Logan for now.”

Roman frowned, “Well…what’s the long story?”

Sighing, Thomas ran a hand through his hair and chewed his lip as he tried to think of how best to phrase it. Putting a hand on his brother’s arm, Hugh gave a look that said he would handle this, and Thomas smiled in appreciation.

“Currently Virgil is being held in a Secure Children’s Home, sort of like a prison for young offenders.” Hugh began and Roman’s eyes widened, “His offence was not a big one, nor has he really done anything criminal, but he was found guilty during a trial and locked in that home for two years.”

“So…he’s being released? And he has nowhere to go but here?” Roman guessed, “Is that why someone has been in contact?”

Hugh nodded.

“What was his crime?” Roman asked, “Was it badass?”

“He didn’t do anything, as Hugh said.” Thomas put in. “His mother was involved with man that committed an armed robbery. Because at the time it happened she had left Virgil with him, the man accused him of being an accomplice to the crime. There was barely any evidence that linked Virgil to committing any crimes, just CCTV footage that he was indeed there.”

“Well that’s horrible!” Roman glowered at the explanation, immediately up in arms that something like that would happen, and had happened, to a member of their family. “Has his conviction been overturned?”

“Lots of big words from you today,” Hugh chuckled and Roman stuck his tongue out.

“I’m fourteen dad, I’m not stupid.” He whined, “Is it?”

“No.” Thomas shook his head, “But because there was flimsy evidence, he was not sentenced to long in the Children’s Home. Because he is due to be released relatively soon, they’ve been in touch with me to see if I can take custody of him. If they cannot release him into anyone’s custody, he will have to stay in the secure facility.”

“You’re gonna do it, right?” Roman demanded, “You’re not gonna leave him there?!”

“Roman, this is a big step.” Hugh said gently, “And it will take a lot of commitment on Thomas’ side-.”

“But he’s your son!” Roman cried, “You can’t leave him!”

“I’m not going to!” Thomas replied as calmly as he could, but Roman could sense the anxiety rising in him again, and immediately felt guilty. “It’s just a lot to take stock of, which is why we’re not going to tell Patton and Logan the full story yet. They may not even allow me to take custody of him, there are tests that have to happen.”

“And Virgil himself may not been enthusiastic about coming here.” Hugh added, “From what the email received from CPS has said, he’s been diagnosed with anxiety from a young age.”

Biting his tongue to stop himself from blurting something out without thinking, Roman took a moment to process all the information. Virgil would be thirteen now, a year younger than Roman himself, a year older than Logan, and three years older than Patton. He had been in the UK, away from the majority of his family for twelve years, and two of those years he had been locked up. Whatever decision was made, Roman was going to do his best to support his cousin, now he knew he was alive and where he was.

“I’ll support you, Uncle Thomas. Want me to tell Patton and Logan?” He asked.

“That would be nice, Ro’.” Thomas grinned, ruffling Roman’s hair and chuckling when the teenager batted his hands away. “Thank you.”

“Virgil is family.” Roman shrugged, “We’ll accept him no matter what.”

\--

If there was one thing Virgil could say he was glad for, it was getting out of the Secure Children’s Home. Two years of trying to be invisible, of avoiding fights and getting into them anyway, of being locked in solitary for having breakdowns, for being judged for a crime he hadn’t committed…the list of the bad things went on and on. Now, he was leaving them all behind.

Not that his future prospects looked any better.

As soon as it had turned to Virgil only having two weeks left in the home, attempts had been made to contact any existing family he had. Nicholas – the case worker that had been working with Virgil for the last two years – had found his father, still living in the US, and had confirmed with him that he would be willing to take on Virgil. And so, the process had begun at introducing Virgil to his father and getting him ready to fly to America to live with him. Virgil was not looking forward to that, he was not entirely keen on flying.

But the days had wiled away and Virgil had kept himself to himself until the day of release. Nicholas was waiting for him at the gates as the officers walked him out, carrying all his worldly goods.

“Hey Virgil.” Nicholas smiled, taking the small box from Virgil and gesturing for him to get in the car, “Are you ready to go?”

Virgil shrugged, drawing the hood of his only hoodie up over his head and sequestering himself into the back seat with his headphones and a small MP3 that Nicholas had bought for him. If he had had a choice, he would have liked to stay with Nicholas, since the man understand him and had been working with him for so long, but he couldn’t. Not with a living relative around. Nicholas wasn’t concerned that Virgil didn’t reply, merely climbed into the driver’s seat and pulling away from the home and driving them towards the airport, leaving Virgil to his own devices.

On his knee, Virgil had a file made up about his father, and was reading it as they drove.

Thomas Sanders.

He already knew the name from Vine, and Youtube, and Virgil himself had seen some of his videos. It was just his luck that he would be the son of a famous person, when all Virgil wanted to do was sink into obscurity now he had been released. It had been a long two years, and Virgil was not in the best mood, but he had to go. This was his chance for a normal life, but there was still a niggling feeling that Thomas was not going to want him. Who would want broken parts? And it wasn’t as if his father had ever made an effort before. When Thomas found out how messed up Virgil was, he was going to want to give him back, and Virgil would be replaced in the home. It was inevitable.

“Stop doing that Virgil.” Nicholas warned, his voice warm but stern. “Negative thoughts,” He clarified when Virgil glanced up at him, “You don’t know what Thomas is thinking, or how he’s going to react to meet you, so don’t try and predict it.”

“Yeah.” Virgil muttered, but his mind wouldn’t let him forget.

Getting lost in music was a good way to force it too though, so Virgil did just that. They were going straight to the airport, where he would have to say goodbye to Nicholas and be met by a woman called Chloe, who was going to be his case worker in the US. There were strict rules about him being placed under Thomas’ care, but Virgil hadn’t really taken them in, too anxious about the changes that were happening, and losing the one person he could count on as a friend. Nicholas seemed to guess he was anxious when he pulled up at the airport and walked Virgil inside.

Bending down to his level, he pulled out a mobile phone and pressed it into Virgil’s hands. “It only has one number in it right now.” He said quietly, “And that’s mine. Any time of day, no matter the time difference, if you need me, call. I’ll always support you Virgil.”

Feeling tears welling up in his eyes, Virgil hugged Nicholas tightly before they were approached by Chloe, and he had to say goodbye. No one seemed to pay attention to the crying teen as Chloe led him through security, since Virgil was crying quietly, and his tears had mostly dried up by the time they finally boarded the plane. This was a mistake. Things were going to go wrong. And not even in the flight, which Virgil was purposefully not thinking about.

Thomas would most likely hate him.

And Thomas’ family might as well. No, they probably would.

Virgil was going to have to meet a lot of new people, and interact with a lot of strangers until he got used to living in America, which was not helping his anxiety.

And to top it off, he was still earmarked as a criminal for not actually doing anything.

But then, didn’t that make him just as guilty? He had been there after all.

Shaking those thoughts out of his head, Virgil fell asleep on the plane without realising it, the anxiety eating away at him having drained him of most of his energy. By the time he woke, the plane was coming into land, and Chloe was shaking him slightly to wake him. How long had he been asleep? Virgil was suddenly wired, and trembled as he carried his sole bag of belongings with him off the plane and down onto the tarmac.

Florida was warm. Almost overbearingly so, but he refused to shrug off his hoodie and followed Chloe and the other passengers through to the terminal.

\--

Thomas was waiting nervously at the airport, bouncing back and forth from one foot to the other. Hugh had offered to come with him, as had other family and friends, but Thomas had gently refused them all. If Virgil did have anxiety, having a big group of people waiting to meet him wasn’t the best option to go for, so Thomas had come alone.

As soon as the flight from London arrived, Thomas picked Virgil out of the crowd immediately. The boy was wearing a baggy hoodie, jeans and combat boots, and his shoulders were slightly slumped, the sign of someone protecting himself from the world. Dark brown hair, so similar to Thomas’ in colour but with hints of purple, and smudged black eye shadow under his striking brown eyes, along with pale skin gave it away all the more. Virgil couldn’t look more like Thomas if he tried, and Thomas felt several different emotions flooding him at the sight of his son, one of which was panic. Fight or flight was kicking in, and as his eyes met Virgil’s across the hall, he could tell his son was the same, but neither of them ran.

Chloe reached Thomas first and held out her hand. “A pleasure to meet you, Mr Sanders.” She smiled. “This is Virgil.”

Taking a calming breath, Thomas knelt down in front of Virgil and offered his hand. After a few seconds of glancing at it, Virgil reached out and shook it, looking extremely relieved that Thomas had not tried to hug him immediately.

“Hello, Virgil.” Thomas murmured.

“Hello…dad.”


	2. Chapter Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Virgil arrives in America, and meets Thomas and some of the family. In paperwork, he is given to Thomas' care, but internally, he's terrified of what the future will bring. But...it could be okay.   
> Maybe

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for your patience in this fic guys! It was a little difficult to write but it's finally here! From Chapter 3 there is going to be more Sides interactions!

 

 

America was…loud.

While Virgil hadn’t found London particularly quiet when he had lived in the centre of the city, but the Home he had spent the last two years in had been nice and peaceful. Or as peaceful as it could be homing “criminal” children. Not only was it peaceful, but there had been a set routine and many changes for Virgil to find the quiet spots whenever he wanted. Now, stepping out into the middle of a middle busy airport, the sudden noise was extremely jarring and Virgil had to concentrate extremely hard to keep walking in a straight line. He kept as close to Thomas and Chloe as possible, holding the phone Nicholas had given him as tightly as he could without breaking it, ignoring all the stares he felt on him.

This had been a bad idea.

He should never have agreed to come here.

And yet, there was no turning back.

Swallowing, Virgil followed Thomas back to his car silently, only for Chloe to inform him that they needed to go to her office for a moment to go over some rules and sign some paperwork. Virgil had to go in the car with Chloe for now, as he had not been officially signed over to Thomas yet, so he sat in the back of her car and made himself as small as possible, while thinking over what he thought of Thomas so far. He seemed…nice. He had smiled a lot during the small time they had been together, but had looked just as nervous as Virgil felt.

His niceness wouldn’t last.

Most of the paperwork were things Virgil didn’t need to pay attention to, leaving Chloe and Thomas to do as they pleased, messing with the edge of his hoody to keep his hands busy. What was going to happen when this meeting was over and he was left alone with Thomas? Would he drop the nice façade? Would Virgil be left alone to drown in this new place, anxious and alone with no contacts close by to help him? So caught up in his anxiety, Virgil almost missed Chloe addressing them both with the basic rules.

Check-ups every two weeks at first to make sure that the two of them were doing alright and that Thomas was coping well. Within a few months those visits would change to one a month, once all initial checks were passed. If anything happened, anything out of the ordinary, Thomas had to report it to CPS and though Virgil would be given time to adjust, he would need enrolling in school within three weeks to make sure he would adjust properly. Out of all the rules, Virgil was not looking forward to that one coming into fruition, but he said nothing as he was official signed over into Thomas’ care.

“Good luck!” Chloe called as she waved them goodbye. “And remember you have my number if you need it!”

“Thank you, Chloe!” Thomas smiled and waved back as she disappeared back inside and the two were alone.

And it was awkward.

Silence filled the car as Thomas began to drive them back towards his home, and he couldn’t help but think that anxiety was a bitch. Chewing his lip nervously, Thomas wasn’t surprised that neither him nor Virgil was confidence enough to break that silence and though it would probably have been comfortable to most people, it was not to either of them. Side-eying Virgil, Thomas found the boy picking at his sleeve and avoiding Thomas’ eyes.

He forced himself to talk. “I…I hope that you don’t mind that I invited my brother and nephews over later.” Thomas said, “Chloe suggested that it…it might be good for you to get some family meetings done straight away…to break you in.”

Blinking as if he was pulled from deep though, Virgil glanced at Thomas. Honestly, the last thing he wanted was more social interaction after the day he had had, but he also didn’t want to be a nuisance. The last thing he wanted was for Thomas to grow sick of him, so he swallowed the discomfort and nodded. Silently.

Only for Thomas to guess his thoughts. “Hey, they told me about your anxiety.” He said quietly, “I understand!” He added quickly when Virgil went tense akin to a deer in headlights and folded in on himself. “I suffer from anxiety too! I know that our experiences will be different, everyone’s are, but I can use my own to help me help you. If you need me to cancel for now, I can, it’s not problem.”

Staring at Thomas in surprise, Virgil felt a comfort fill him at his father’s words, and a little bit more confidence. “I…I don’t mind.”

Offering a soft smile, Thomas allowed the drive to continue in silence until they reached the house. He climbed out first, crossed around the car and opened Virgil’s door. The boy was apprehensive, but he slid from the car and followed Thomas towards the house. Unlocking the door, Thomas stepped back and allowed Virgil to step in first.

Taking one small step inside, Virgil examined everything as he edged further and further inside. There was a kitchen to the left, a living room directly ahead, with video recording equipment pushed to one side and stairs leading up to the first floor – all in all it was a normal, every day house. Definitely different to the flat Virgil had stayed in with his mother before being arrested, it seemed even more homely and comfortable, and Virgil relaxed a little further. Thomas followed Virgil inside, content to let him wander for the moment and examine everything, nearly walking into Virgil when he stopped by the stairs and waited as if for instructions.

Biting back a curse at the suddenness, Thomas immediately remembered something he had been told by both Nicholas and Chloe when they had been preparing him for Virgil’s imminent arrival. For the last two years Virgil’s entire life had been dictated by prison guards and therapists, including when he could eat, when he slept, where he could go, and his entire life had been a simple structure. Now he was free, Virgil would still be expecting the same thing, until he broke out of it.

“Are you feeling okay Virgil?” Thomas asked softly, “Do you want to go upstairs and rest?”

Virgil shrugged, trying to look nonchalant.

Ah.

The “dark” persona. Thomas had done this before himself a few times in order to cover up rising anxiety. It was the easiest way to get people to leave you alone, to make them think you were “badass” or “cruel” and get other people’s guards up so they would ignore how Virgil was really thinking.

“I can show you to your room, get you acquainted with the house upstairs as well.” Thomas suggested as calmly as he could, and Virgil merely nodded and went upstairs without a complaint. The upstairs was just as decorated as the lower part of the house, and Virgil found himself examining every nook and cranny he could before Virgil directed him to the second bedroom. It was sparingly decorated compared to the rest of the house, but it looked comfy enough. A bed, walk in wardrobe, chest of drawers, bedside table, and plain black curtains, it was a room. Better than the room he had left at the home, Virgil mused, and more than he needed. The fact that it looked so much more clean and organised than the rest of the house told him that Thomas had recently cleaned it out. Thomas was not about to admit that that was true, and that his spare room had been used for storage until he had confirmed he would take on Virgil, when rigorous cleaning had been arranged.

It wouldn’t have mattered to Virgil, he hadn’t been expecting his own room and it was perfect.

“I…you didn’t have to get me a room.” He muttered, standing in the doorway in disbelief.

Thomas smiled, “Of course I did.” He countered, “Since you’re going to be living with me now you’re going to need a place of your own. Besides, where else was I going to put you?”

_Back to England_ went unsaid so Virgil just stayed silent and clutched his bag to his chest. Assuming it would be easier to leave him alone to get used to his surroundings, Thomas rapped his knuckles on the door to get his attention and smiled.

“I’ll be downstairs if you need me, just call.” He said.

“Thanks.”

Then, Virgil was alone.

Attempting to look at things objectively, Virgil decided things had gone well. However the longer he stood in the doorway of the room, the harder it was for Virgil to hold onto the positivity of his meeting with Thomas, and the future of living in America. It was clear Thomas was just being nice – if he had truly wanted Virgil than he would have made more attempts to do something before CPS had basically dumped Virgil on him. And soon he would grow sick of the burden of having a son and he would get rid of Virgil. Not only that, but there was an entire family on this side of the world that Virgil had to get to know, to meet, and to interact with.

Life was going to be tiring.

Virgil wasn’t sure what time it was in England, but he pulled out the phone Nicholas had given him and called the number. No one answered and Virgil sighed. Collapsing onto the bed, Virgil kept his bag close to his chest and buried his face in the pillow. It didn’t take long for him to fall asleep.

\--

Patton was bouncing with excitement as he pulled his coat on. He was extremely eager to go and find and meet Virgil, and it had been a tiring effort all morning on Roman and Logan’s parts to keep him calm enough to not run out of the house as soon as he heard Thomas had come home. Hughbert had been messaging Thomas for an hour after he had come home, making sure his brother was okay, and finalising the time they could come over, much to Patton’s excitement.

Roman himself was nervous. Out of the three brothers, he was the only one that knew the truth about Virgil, and he had no idea how that had shaped the boy. Still, he was dressed in his favourite shirt, decorated with a prince like outfit, and had preened himself properly this morning to make a good impressed. Logan was dressed the same, shirt, tie and slacks and Patton was dressed in a colourful mess with a grey cardigan over his shoulders under his coat. Their father found their enthusiasm amusing and infectious, and by the time Thomas had sent a message confirming they could come over, all four were bouncing.

“Now Patton, remember, Virgil may not be happy with social interaction.” Hugh warned as they approached Thomas’ front door. “I know you’ll want to hug him, so stay calm okay?”

“I will dad!” Patton nodded, bouncing back and forth on the balls of his feet as the door opened and Thomas greeted them. Immediately Patton tried to see under his shoulder to see if Virgil was in plain sight, but there was no one else in there, much to his disappointment.   
“Is Virgil here?” He asked.

“Patience Patton,” Hugh warned as Thomas smiled and said, “He is, he’s upstairs. Come in.”

They filed in, Patton and Logan sitting on the couch, and Roman sinking into a chair at the table with Hugh. Thomas seemed too nervous to sit down, pacing back and forth by the bottom of the stairs and glancing up every now and then.

“Are you going to call him down?” Hugh asked softly, “Or do you want us to leave and come back a time later?”

“No. No I’ll call him down. I think…I think he’s asleep.” Thomas chuckled nervously, “Hang on.” And with that, he walked upstairs quietly and ducked into Virgil’s room. The boy was indeed passed out on top of the covers of his bed, but as soon as the door opened he jerked up blearily and rolled off the bed with a thump.  
“Virgil, are you okay?!” Thomas cried, taking several steps into the room before pausing, remembering Virgil probably wasn’t comfortable being grabbed. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay.” Virgil muttered, rubbing his eyes furiously and clambering up off the floor. “I…I…whenever people came into the room at the Home, it wasn’t for anything good.” The admission came out without any prompting and Virgil clamped his mouth shut as soon as it did. Damn it. Thomas didn’t want to hear about Virgil’s time in the Home, a hark back to the fact that Virgil was a criminal.

“I’m sorry.” Thomas repeated, bending down to Virgil’s level and offering another soft smile. “I’ll knock next time.”

“Um…thanks.” Virgil mumbled, “What…did you need something?”

“Yes.” Thomas nodded, “My brother and my nephews are here, for…for the meeting? Just, come down when you’re ready.”

_I’m never going to be ready,_ Virgil thought but he merely nodded numbly and watched Thomas back out of the room and leave him be. Stretching and moving to the mirror above the dressing table, Virgil messed with his hair and smoothed his eyeshadow with his thumb to hide the fact that he had been sleeping on his face and smudged it all over his cheeks. What were his cousins going to be like? Virgil didn’t even really have a view on American’s, or children, or anyone really. He hoped they were as nice as Thomas had been.

Pushing the thoughts out of his head, Virgil zipped his hoody right up to his chin and left the room. Taking the stairs softly, Virgil came to a stop a few stairs up when he caught sight of the three children sitting on the couch. The oldest of the three had light brown hair, similar to Thomas’ in colour but with hints of red, almost as if it had been dyed a different colour at one point and he had let it fade. He was dressed like a prince, and from the way he was talking to who Virgil assumed was his father, told him that the boy was dramatic. The second brother that Virgil noticed was dressed oddly for a teenager. Wearing a shirt and necktie, and with his hair brushed neatly up off his face, he was reading a book. Quiet and ignoring everyone else in the room, Virgil felt he would get along with him the most. The youngest brother was loud, and excited. He was asking Thomas questions about Virgil, bouncing on the edge of his seat and constantly inspiring Thomas to tell him to calm down with a laughing voice.

It was now or never.

Taking a deep breath, Virgil took the last few steps and appeared in front of them all. Patton spotted him first and squealed excitedly, jumping to his feet. Virgil jumped and stumbled back, banging into the wall at the foot of the stairs, and Patton paused. Though he was young, he was clever and he knew Virgil didn’t want to be touched. Or he had been told that, Virgil didn’t care as long as he didn’t come any closer. Thomas smiled widely.

“Hello Virgil.” He greeted, “This is my brother and his sons. Let me introduce them.”

Nodding, Virgil bit his lip as he followed Thomas’ motions. Thomas’ brother was called Hughbert, or Hugh for short. The oldest brother was Roman, the middle Logan and the youngest Patton.

“It’s nice to meet you, Virgil!” Patton exclaimed, “Welcome to America!”

“Uh…thanks?” Virgil muttered, “It’s…nice to be here.”

Roman, Hugh and Thomas didn’t look convinced, and that told Virgil immediately that those three knew the true story of his history, but Patton and Logan were unaware.

“Salutations.” Logan said, putting a bookmark in his book and setting it aside. “I hope the journey was good.”

Roman snorted with laughter, “That’s the first thing you’re going to say to him?”

Logan raised his eyebrow, “It is common to wish people a good journey when they arrive, and it is merely polite.”

“Come on boys.” Hugh interupted before Roman could speak again, “Let’s not argue in front of Virgil. Not right away anyway.”

Rolling his eyes, Roman nodded and folded his arms. Logan did the same, and Virgil stared between them all, worried and anxious and really hoping he could rush back upstairs. He was not comfortable with this.

“You know Virgil, you don’t have to stay for too long.” Thomas said gently, “Meeting them and saying hello is more than enough for your first time.”

“I…it’s…it’s okay.” Virgil said, “I don’t mind.”

“Why don’t we watch a Disney movie?!” Patton suggested loudly, “We all love Disney! Do you like Disney, Virgil?”

A little taken aback that Patton spoke directly to him, Virgil shuffled a little and nodded. “I watched ‘em a bit when I was back home. Kinda like the dark messages you can read from them.”

An intake a breath from Roman made the entire room look at him, Virgil frowning at the dramatic reaction. “Did you just insult Disney movies?”

“No?” Virgil replied, “I said I read dark messages in them. I like them.”

“Let’s not start an argument!” Hugh repeated as Roman puffed himself up to argue, and his son deflated with an angered expression. Virgil was on edge as well and Thomas was torn between being happy that he was seemingly happy to interact with his cousins, and worried that he was already argumentative. Still, this was better than anything else he could have asked for, and Patton suggesting a movie was a good idea.

“How about an older movie? Virgil do you have a favourite?” He asked his son and Virgil shrugged.

“Black Cauldron.”

“But that one has no songs!” Roman protested.

“Good.” Virgil huffed, “I wouldn’t wanna sit through your singing.”

“I have a wonderful voice thank you!” Roman snapped, “I will-.”

“No demonstrations necessary right now Roman.” Hugh said firmly, “Let’s just watch Black Cauldron.”

“I’ve never seen Black Cauldron!” Patton grinned, “Is it good?”

Virgil offered a small smile, “Yeah, it’s alright.”

He accepted Patton’s offer to sit next to him on the couch, on the edge of the couch with Thomas right next to Patton. Logan sat next to Thomas, Roman next to Logan and Hugh on the other end. When the movie started playing, Virgil allowed himself to relax slightly. It could have been worse. It always could be worse.

This was okay.

He was going to be okay.

And when Patton rested their hands together on the couch, saying nothing else but praise for the movie, Virgil truly believed his positive thoughts for the first time in two years.

He was going to be okay.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Virgil's belongings arrive in America and Thomas learns his son has a secret hobby - music.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally back at it xD sorry for making your guys wait for so long!

 

 

The first couple of days passed without a hitch for the most part.

Unsurprisingly, Virgil kept to himself most of the time, but he sat with Thomas during meal times and would sometimes curl up on the end of the couch at night when he didn’t feel like being alone, even if he was too embarrassed to admit it. Thomas was careful around him, taking from his own experiences with anxiety to help until he learnt more about Virgil. Considering the years they had been apart, Virgil and Thomas gelled well, and without telling the other, both were hopeful this was going to go well.

And then, they faced their first challenge when Virgil’s belongings were delivered.

It was a complete surprise when it happened, and Thomas had only just rolled out of bed when he got a call from a number he didn’t recognise. Grabbing his phone, Thomas bit his lip and considered whether he wanted to answer it or not before he decided he should just in case it was someone from CPS. Putting the phone to his ear, Thomas was greeted with a gruff voice telling him that his delivery was about to arrive, and Thomas frowned. He hadn’t ordered anything recently, and his brain was barely awake enough to think it could be something for Virgil, but the man on the phone would not listen to his protests. So, instead, Thomas confirmed the address, threw on some clothes and waited nervously by the door.

Half an hour later there were five large boxes in his living room and Thomas was signing for them. Each box carried Virgil’s name and the invoice showed these had been shipped by English CPS as all of Virgil’s remaining belongings. Some notice would have been nice, because Thomas could feel anxiety gnawing in his stomach now at what these boxes could contain, could tell him about his son, and what Virgil was expecting versus what was actually there. The creak of the floorboards above him told Thomas that Virgil was awake and wandering around in his normal morning routine, so Thomas manoeuvred around the boxes and made his way upstairs to tell him.

“Good morning,” Thomas called through Virgil’s bedroom door, only to receive a small mumble that sounded something like ‘come in’, since Virgil was not a good morning person.

Like father like son, Thomas thought fondly.

Opening the door, Thomas was met with the vision of Virgil sitting on the edge of his bed wearing a hoody and shorts, yawning and looking rather grumpy.

“Who was at the door?” Virgil asked.

“A deliveryman.” Thomas replied, and Virgil raised an eyebrow, “It was some things for you. Your things from England.”

Virgil stood immediately from the bed, entire body tensed as if he wanted to run downstairs, but Thomas was blocking his path. And Thomas remembered what he had been told, that Virgil would still be in prisoner mode for a few months, awaiting confirmation that he was allowed to do things. Thomas simply moved aside and nodded, enough permission for Virgil to rush downstairs, leaving Thomas to follow him down with a smile. His son had looked so excited it was almost infectious, but when Thomas caught up with him, he found Virgil standing at the bottom of the stairs, looking out at the boxes in disappointment.

“What’s wrong?” Thomas asked quietly, stopping a few stairs above Virgil, “Are you…is there something missing?”

“My…I…my grandfather’s guitar.” Virgil whispered.

“I…they didn’t say they had a guitar, just the boxes.” Thomas said, “If I had known I would have asked.”

Biting his lip in a similar way to how Thomas had before, Virgil stepped off the stairs and approached the boxes, trailing his fingers along the top of them, as if trying to decide which to open first. “I was given it on my sixth birthday and he taught me how to play. I bet she sold it.” Virgil sounded so bitter as he spoke the last sentence, and Thomas gently placed a hand on his shoulder.

“I’ll speak to Chloe, maybe she can track it down.” Thomas murmured, “So…why don’t we have some breakfast and then we can unpack all of this, make your room feel a bit more personal? Maybe the guitar will come later?”

There was no confidence on Virgil’s face, but he followed Thomas through to the kitchen and stood in the entrance as he watched Thomas gather the quick necessities for breakfast. He had a bowl of cereal, Thomas had a cup of coffee and a cereal bar and they ate in silence. Virgil kept glancing at the boxes behind the divide between the couch, his leg bouncing under the table from either anxiety or excitement or both, Thomas wasn’t sure. As soon as they were done, Thomas nodded, and Virgil stood from the table and went to the boxes.

Thomas sat next to him in the middle of the floor with scissors.

None of the boxes were very full and each one seemed to inspire anger in Virgil more than anything else. Considering the ten years Virgil had been alive, Thomas expected him to have more stuff than this, and it was clear that there were lots of things missing other than the guitar. The last box had Virgil trembling as he tried to cut the box open. Thomas reached forward and steadied his hand, helping him slice through the packing tape.

A small sob escaped his throat.

Slowly and with shaking hands, Virgil reached into the box and withdrew a small photo of himself as a young child, holding a guitar as he sat on an adult man’s knee. Assuming this was his grandfather, it was clearly a picture of Virgil on his birthday when he had been gifted the guitar, and the only other thing in the box was a letter, which Virgil handed to Thomas.

“Will you…I…will you read it?” Virgil asked.

Taking the letter from him, Thomas was worried about opening the letter with how Virgil looked, so small in the midst of clothes and a few books, the only things left of his life in England. Scanning the letter, Thomas’ heart sank.

  _My dearest Virgil,_

_When you read this, you’ll either be in jail, or free and living elsewhere. When you leave that Secure Home, I don’t want you coming back to me after what you’ve done. That blasted guitar is sold and gone, it brought back too many bad memories of you and my father. You know, he wasn’t a nice man. A good grandfather, a terrible father. Just like your father. You’ll never see that precious thing again, since you stole something precious from me._

_Your mother._

Virgil could tell the letter was bad from Thomas’ face alone, but he still asked, “What did it say?”

“She sold the guitar.” Thomas said. “I’m so sorry.”

“It’s fine.” Virgil muttered shortly and it was very clear it wasn’t.

“What type of guitar was it?”

“A…it was a Martin Dreadnought.” Virgil answered, “A nice acoustic.”

“You know I…I have a good friend who plays a lot of instruments and I can ask him if he has a…a Martin Dreadnought? If he does I don’t think he’ll mind you borrowing it. And I’ll track this down however I can.” Thomas promised, and despite the situation, Virgil managed a small smile.

“Thanks.”

They spent the rest of the morning moving Virgil’s things upstairs box by box, and Virgil redecorating the room. A few of his posters had survived transport to the US and Thomas managed to fish out some blue tack so Virgil could put them up, and it helped his room feel more…his. On top of that, the shelves were filled with his books, mostly play manuscripts, tour guides and fantasy books, along with the occasional sketch book and art set. Last but not least came the clothes, consisting of a lot of blacks and purples, typical emo clothes, and Thomas couldn’t help but smile as he helped Virgil hand them up. He had gone through that phase in his life as a teenager, but he had not been as dedicated to it as Virgil seemed to be. Then again, this was most likely the style of clothing that Virgil liked, and that was fine. It worked well on him. Virgil looked exhausted when they were done, but there was a light in his eyes as he surveyed the room and how good it look.

“Anything else missing?” Thomas asked.

“Just my laptop.” Virgil shrugged, “Not as important I guess.”

“I have a spare laptop that you can have.” Thomas suggested, “I mean…I know it won’t have your files on it but it’s something.”

Virgil looked surprised at the offer, “I…I saved most of my files to the cloud because…well…I wasn’t expecting to come home to my laptop. Are you…I mean…are you sure?”

“Of course.” Thomas smiled, “I know that being able to escape online is important sometimes, and I’m not using it other than for a bit of storage. I’ll fish it down for you.”

Virgil mumbled thanks again, and with that, the day went on.

They spent the day apart, Virgil in his room and Thomas downstairs working on editing his latest video. Joan spent a lot of the day on video chat helping Thomas, since it was probably best for his friend not to come over while Virgil was still settling in and it was a fun, normal time. When it had passed to a more sociable time and Thomas was sure Jamahl would be free, he paused his chat with Joan and phoned his friend.

“Hey, it’s Thomas.”

“ _Hey man, what’s up?”_

“Hey, yeah, um...So I’m sure you’ve heard about my son, Virgil?” Thomas began, “His things from England were delivered and there was something missing I think you can help with.”

\--

It was safe to say Virgil spent a lot of time with his head buried in his pillows, phone playing music full blast to drown out any and all ambient noise, so he could lose track of what was happening in life. Thomas usually left him to it, but there were times when the man needed Virgil, and he would wait patiently by the door until Virgil noticed him, and then apologising when he startled him – like today. Virgil found it a little unnerving and embarrassing, but he appreciated Thomas not marching up to him to roughly get his attention. That’s what would have happened in the Secure Home had he let himself get too lost in thought, but he was safe here. Thomas was safe.

“Hey Virgil,” Thomas waited for Virgil to pull off his headphones and sit up before speaking, “I know this might be a little short notice but I invited one of my friends over. He’s um…well, he’s a musician and he brought some guitars over.” He continued and Virgil immediately perked, ears picking up the sound of someone downstairs tweaking the tuning of the guitar softly.

“Is that…did you…?”

Without needing to verbally confirm it, Thomas merely nodded and stood back so Virgil could rush downstairs. His anxiety didn’t hit until he was on the second to last step and he saw the stranger sitting on the couch, but when he felt Thomas behind him Virgil felt calm enough to take the last few steps into the room.

Jamahl smiled softly and stood, “Hey there Virgil. My name’s Jamahl.”

“Hi.” Tentatively, Virgil held out his hand to shake Jamahl’s and Jamahl shook it with a wider smile.

“Thomas told me that you liked to play the Dreadnaught,” He said, “I’ve got a friend with one, so I brought it over. You want to have a go?”

The guitar was sitting behind him on the couch and Virgil stared at it, biting his lip. “What if I break it?”

“Don’t worry about that.” Jamahl and Thomas said together. “My friend knows I’m bringing it here, so we’ve got it covered if anything does happen.” Jamahl added as well, but it still wasn’t enough to convince Virgil. It was obvious his fingers were itching to get a hold of the guitar and play, it had been so long since he had been given a chance, but neither wanted to push him just in case.

“Maybe we should leave you alone?” Thomas inquired after a moment, “I know an audience can be somewhat daunting.”

“No. No, it’s okay.”

Taking a deep breath, Virgil walked to the couch and picked up the guitar and gently strummed a note out to get a test for the instrument. The tuning was perfect and Virgil smiled softly, sitting down and balancing the guitar on his knee. Thomas and Jamahl sat as well, another guitar resting against Jamahl’s leg in case Virgil wanted to play a duet, but for now it went untouched as the two of them waited for Virgil to play, making attempts to not stare at him.

With careful fingers, Virgil began to play, and Thomas’ breath caught as he recognised the song instantly.

Things We Used to Share.

His son was playing it superbly, humming for the lyrics instead of singing, and as the song built up, Thomas couldn’t stop himself from softly singing along. Virgil looked up in surprise, but he didn’t falter in playing the melody, closing his eyes and ceasing his humming in favour of Thomas singing. When the song came to the end Jamahl clapped them and Thomas had to wipe a tear from his eye.

Looking a little embarrassed, Virgil muttered, “I didn’t know who you were when I learnt that song but…I like the lyrics.”

“Thank you.”

Jamahl pulled the second guitar onto his knee. “Mind if I jam with you?” He asked.

“Sure.”

Thomas sat back and spent the rest of his day listening to Virgil and Jamahl jam together, with Jamahl teaching Virgil some new techniques for notes he was struggling with. He sang some of the songs as well, especially when Virgil strayed into some acoustic Disney songs. All in all, it was a fun day, until Jamahl had to go and Virgil had to give the Dreadnought. Still, the boy had a big smile on his face.

“Thank you.” He said to Jamahl before he went, and to Thomas once they were alone. “I appreciate it.”

“Of course.” Thomas replied, his mouth dropping open when Virgil hugged him briefly before running upstairs quickly.

Watching him go, Thomas smiled. Things were going well.

**Author's Note:**

> [My tumblr](https://egotisticalfloof.tumblr.com/)


End file.
